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i Specification of Letters Patent.

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Application iled August 29, 1918. Serial No. 251,963.

To all whom it may concer/1t Be it known that l, GrUsrAv F.cxRAssA, acitizen of the United States of America, a resident of Fine Lawn, in thecounty of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new anduseful lfmprovements in Shoes, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification.

rFhis invention relates to improvements in articles of foot wear, suchas shoes, slippers, boots and the like, the main object being to producesuch articles at a relatively low cost and to utilize materials whichare more plentiful than ordinary shoe leather. Owing tothe scarcity ofshoe leather and to the fact that the substitutes of which l am aware donot possess the required strength and do not satisfactorily retain theshape in which they are formed, l employ a metallic reinforcing elementwhich very materially strengthens the upper portion of the shoe, and atthe same time retains the inexpensive leather, or leather substitute, inthe desired shape.

By using a strong flexible metal stid'ener, as herein disclosed, theupper portion of the shoe will retain its shape for a long period oftime, even though made of relatively inexpensive thin leather, such, forexample, as sheepskin. 'Fhe flexible stiener and reinforcement alsoprovides for the use of cloth and special compositions of material assubstitutes for leather shoe uppers.

'llhe article of footwear herein shown is a shoe having any suitablesole, upper and lining, and the flexible metallic stiiiener consists ofWire cloth interposed between the upper and lining. 'Fhe invention alsocomprises certain details of construction and a particular combinationand arrangement of the several elements, as will be hereinafter idescribed.

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Fig. FV.

Fig. FV is a fragmentary vertical section taken approximately on theline FV-FV, Fig.. ll.

The shoe herein shown comprises a suitable outer sole l, a heel 2, andan upper comprising a vamp 3 and toe cap l, counter 5 and quarters 6.nihe elements of the upper just referred to may be made of thin leathersuch as sheepskin, or they may be made of cloth, or of any suitablesubstitute for leather. 7 designates a lining for the several elementsof the upper. This lining is preferably heavy fleeced cloth, assuggested by 'Fhe combined stiffener and reinforcement A consists ofreticulated metal, preferably wire cloth, interposed between the liningand the upper of the shoe. rFhis metallic reinforcement is coextensivewith the lining and the upper. 'Fhe lower margins of the lining, theupper, and the interposed reinforcement are all turned inwardly, asshown in Fig. FV, and secured between the outer sole l and the innersole l. rFhe large flexible metallic reinforcing and stiffening web isthus securely attached to the sole of the shoe, and the raw edges at thelower margins of the metal are confined between the elements of theshoesole. rFhe heavy pro tective lining forms a pad or cushion between thefoot and the metallic reinforcement. llt is also important to observethat the heel of the foot is protected by an inside counter 5 (Fig. lll)interposed between the linincl 7 and the metal.

rllhe wire cloth constitutinthe flexible metal reinforcement and sti"ener may be made of any suitable metal, such as iron, or aluminum. litwill be readily understood that wire cloth of this kind can be readilyshaped on a last to provide a reinforcement of the desired form, andwhenthe lower margins of the wire cloth are secured as shown in Fig. FV, thewire elements cannot be readily displaced from the relative posiltionsin which they were arranged on the ast.

The metal reinforcing web is preferably, but not essentially, made of anumber of sec tions comprising a toe section 8 and side sections 9extending from the toe section to the heel portion of the shoe. 'Fhefront and rear ends of the side sections 9 may be lapped, as shown inFig. lll, and the toe section 8 preferably overlaps the front margins ofthe side sections.

This invention eliminates the toe boxes7 or stiffeners ordinarily usedin shoe toes, the wire itself being stiii enough to provide the desiredstrength and rigidity at the toe. If the wire cloth should becomeindented at the toe, it can be easily pushed outwardly to its originalshape.

I claim:

1. An article of footwear comprising a sole, an upper and a liningtherefor secured to the sole, a combined stifener and reinforcementcomprising a web of reticulated metal' interposed between said liningand upper, and an inside counter interposed between said lining and thereticulated metal at the heel portion of the metal. 2. A shoe having asole, an upper secured to said sole, said upper comprisinor a vamp, 20

counter and quarter, a protective ining for said vamp, counter andquarter, a combined stifener and reinforcement comprising sheets ofmetallic wire cloth secured to the sole and interposed between theprotective 2 In testimony that I claim the foregoing I 30 hereunto afxmy signature.

GUSTAV F. OCKRASSA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, 'ny addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington. D. C.

